April 14, 2017

Newport still has unfairly high share of asylum seekers

For three years I have been raising the issue of the grossly unfair distribution of asylum seekers throughout the UK. It matters. Some areas have none. Perversely they are the areas that have the highest levels of prejudice against asylum seekers. Other areas have large numbers with consequent strains on local housing, education and the NHS. It is in everyone's interests to have as even a distribution as possible.

In three years there has been no improvement. As far as Newport is concerned we have gone backwards as the figures below obtained by my staff illustrate:

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Number of asylum seekers in Newport has risen by a third in three years to a record high of 517

Cardiff has nearly triple the number of asylum seekers than two English regions put together.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s constituency has grown (in same period)… from 0 to grand total of 4!

34,936 asylum seekers live in areas with Labour-led councils compared with 1,680 in Conservative-led areas (figures reported in The Observer on April 9th 2017).

Fluctuation of asylum seekers in Newport since 2003

Newport: Now 517 asylum seekers, 145,700 population,

Year

UK total

Newport

2016

39,389

517

2015

35,693

467

2014

29,753

435

2013

23,459

316

2012

20,182

233

2011

20,894

205

2010

22,039

172

2009

28,518

233

2008

31,339

256

2007

43,052

394

2006

47,774

455

2005

49,430

375

2004

61,625

430

2003

80,123

413

Newport’s share of asylum seekers (in context of the UK as a whole) stands at 1.3%, its population is 0.2% of UK as a whole.

One Welsh city supports greater share of refugees than South East region

Cardiff is taking nearly triple the number of asylum seekers than the South East region as a whole, despite accounting for a much smaller percentage of the UK population.

Cardiff, in 2016, had 1,409 asylum seekers, like Newport, a third higher than in 2013 (when Cardiff had 934).

The South East is the most populated region in the UK with 8.9 million people, 13.7% of the UK’s entire population live there. In contrast, Cardiff’s population size of 341,000 represents only 0.4% of the UK. Despite this, the South East of England (where Labour only has two MPs) only has 580 asylum seekers.

Cardiff has more asylum seekers than two English regions, South East and East of England (580 + 597 = 1177) put together.

While Home Secretary Amber Rudd’s constituency Hastings and Rye, which falls within the Hastings local authority, has a greater number of asylum seekers (100 in 2016) receiving support provided under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 – the local authority had 248 in 2003.

Dispersal unfairness also within Wales as well as UK

While Cardiff takes more asylum seekers than two entire English regions combined, the unfairness of dispersal is as pronounced within Wales as within the UK.

Monmouthshire gained its first asylum seeker in 2016.

Figures for the first quarter of 2017 will be published on May 24th 2017.